To advance our policy priorities, the Smart Energy Council regularly makes submissions to the Government, non-govt bodies, regulators and statutory authorities on a range of issues likely to impact energy policy and it’s impact on industry and the market.
Date: 23rd July 2026
Submitted to: AEMC
Short Description
Date: 7th July 2026
Submitted to: DCCEEW
Short Description
The Smart Energy Council provided a submission to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water’s public consultation on the draft Policy Position Paper and Exposure Draft for the National Environmental Standard for Data and Information.
Our recommendations encourage DCCEEW to prioritise the rapid activation of the register of trusted environmental data assets, protect low-impact commercial and consumer energy resource projects from prohibitive metadata burdens, formally recognise accredited state and territory data practices as equivalent under bilateral agreements, and provide practical governance protocols for culturally sensitive Indigenous information.
This submission will inform the final standard’s implementation framework and upcoming technical guidance to lower capital development barriers.
Date: 7th July 2026
Submitted to: DCCEEW
Short Description
Date: 25th June 2026
Submitted to: Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC)
Short Description
The Smart Energy Council provided a response to the Australian Energy Market Commission’s (AEMC) consultation paper regarding the National Electricity Amendment (Facilitating electric vehicle charging infrastructure under Commonwealth grants) Rule 2026.
The submission was broadly supportive of the objectives of the Program and the intention enabling rule change.
The submission also highlighted the need to ensure EVCI assets are designed with future vehicle-to-grid (V2G) capability, a mandatory inclusion of installer accreditation, safety standards, and local SME participation frameworks.
The response will help support the AEMC finalise its rule determination expected in late 2026.
Date: 24th June 2026
Submitted to: The Senate Committee on Environment and Communications
Short Description
The Smart Energy Council provided a submission to the Senate Environment and Communications References Committee’s inquiry into Artificial Intelligence and Data Centres.
We support the sector’s responsible growth as an opportunity to accelerate investment in renewable generation and storage, but only if operators ensure costs are not passed to households and businesses.
Our four recommendations encourage the Australian Government to make additional renewables a binding requirement, finalise AEMC grid connection standards, pursue national harmonisation of energy reporting, and require transparency in government-to-AI company deals.
This submission will inform a final report that the Senate Committee will publish by 16 November 2026.
Date: 9th June 2026
Submitted to: DCCEEW
Short Description
The Smart Energy Council provided a submission to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water’s public consultation on the exposure draft of the National Environmental Standard for Environmental Offsets.
We generally support establishing high-integrity, uniform baselines across the country, but emphasise that offsetting rules must match ecological ambition with commercial reality to prevent clean energy investment bottlenecks.
Our recommendations encourage DCCEEW to deliver explicit upfront rules for calculating restoration contributions, provide structural flexibility through bioregional offset pooling and commit to practical, data-driven piloting using active renewable project scenarios.
This submission will inform the finalisation and operational framework of the Standard.
Date: 5th June 2026
Submitted to: DCCEEW
Short Description
The Smart Energy Council provided a submission to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water’s public consultation on the Environment Protection Reforms: Subordinate Legislation.
We support establishing clear nature-positive benchmarks, but stress that practical operational rules must be calibrated to avoid administrative roadblocks for urgent clean energy infrastructure.
Our recommendations encourage DCCEEW to publish comprehensive net gain guidance prior to the standards going live, clarify advanced offsets criteria to accept committed milestone plans, and integrate assessment flexibility for regional data calculators.
This submission will inform the final regulations and priority national environmental standards.
Date: 31st May 2026
Submitted to: NSW DCCEEW
Short Description
The Smart Energy Council provided a submission to the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water regarding the Investigation into minimum energy efficiency rental standards Consultation Paper.
This submission will inform the overarching architecture and rollout of the MEERS framework.
We support the introduction of mandatory standards to eliminate energy hardship and ensure renters benefit directly from clean energy investments rather than being left behind in a two-speed energy transition.
Our recommendations encourage the NSW Government to adopt a flexible multiple pathways implementation model, mandate thermal property disclosures at advertisement and lease, dynamically adapt requirements across climate zones and progressively integrate energy efficiency into the Residential Tenancies Act 2010.
Date: 29th May 2026
Submitted to: Synergy
Short Description
The Smart Energy Council provided a submission to Synergy regarding the public consultation on the draft Third Party Aggregator (TPA) Model Contract.
We support the Western Australian Government’s strategic vision for a competitive, multi-provider Distributed Energy Resources (DER) ecosystem, but only if the underlying contractual frameworks are commercially viable and do not unfairly isolate private market participants.
Our recommendations encourage Synergy to pause finalisation of the contract to collaborate with industry stakeholders, specifically to remove communication restrictions with grid operators, amend asymmetric and uncapped financial liabilities, eliminate unquantifiable cost structures, and introduce independent oversight and enforceable processing timelines to balance Synergy’s conflicted gatekeeper role.
This submission will inform the finalisation of the contract terms and help de-risk the state’s broader energy transition to ensure private capital is not deterred from investing in the local market.
Date: 29th May 2026
Submitted to: DCCEEW
Short Description
The Smart Energy Council provided a submission to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water’s public consultation on the draft National Environmental Standard for Matters of National Environmental Significance (MNES).
We support ensuring Australia’s clean energy transition is nature-positive, but caution that a purely principles-based standard risks creating prolonged approval bottlenecks and inflating capital risk premiums.
Our recommendations encourage DCCEEW to provide precise, upfront clarity on data expectations and commit to real-world scenario piloting against active clean energy projects.
This submission will inform the final legislative settings to deliver objective, predictable approval tests.
Date: 22nd May 2026
Submitted to: DCCEEW
Short Description
The Smart Energy Council provided a submission to the public consultation on the Carbon Credits and Other Legislation Amendment (Integrity and Transparency) Bill 2026.
We support strengthening scheme integrity to safeguard Australia’s energy transition, but emphasise that frameworks must prioritise physical, on-site decarbonisation over paper-only abatement.
Our recommendations encourage DCCEEW to anchor Integrity Risk Method Declarations (IRMD) in empirical science rather than ministerial discretion, remove the restrictive requirement for immediate alternative methods when halting flawed credits, and support streamlined, dual-activity project methods.
This submission will inform the ongoing refinement of the Bill’s governance and transparency provisions.
Date: 12th May 2026
Submitted to: Productivity Commission
Short Description
The Smart Energy Council provided a response to the draft findings, recommendations and areas outlined in the Productivity Commission’s Impact of Heavy Vehicle Reform interim report.
The response broadly supported the draft findings and recommendations. However, we suggested the final report focus on addressing regulatory barriers for trucking cohorts, addressing supply-side constraints on electric heavy vehicles and establishing establishment a Federal Office for Zero Emissions Transport
This response will help inform the Productivity Commission’s final report that will be released in the coming months.
Date: 01st May 2026
Submitted to: Queensland Competition Authority
Short Description
The Smart Energy Council provided a submission to the Queensland Competition Authority (QCA) regarding its Solar Feed-in Tariff 2026–27 Draft Determination.
The submission raised concerns about the effectiveness and long-term sustainability of the existing methodological approach, and its alignment with Queensland’s broader energy system and consumer affordability objectives.
This feedback would help inform the QCA’s final feed-in tariff determination announced in June 2026.
Chair: Darren Johannesen
Meeting Frequency: Every 12 Weeks
Chair: Robert Potter
Meeting Frequency: Every 12 Weeks
Chair: Rhiannon Evans
Meeting Frequency: Every 12 Weeks
Chair: Rod Scott
Meeting Frequency: Every 12 Weeks
Chair: Sohaib Mohammed
Meeting Frequency: Every 8 Weeks
Chair: John Welch
Meeting Frequency: Every 8 Weeks
Sector Scope: